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Need to Know: the World Juniors on TSN

— December 23, 2014

The World Juniors land in Toronto and Montréal on Boxing Day. Since taking over the tournament’s broadcast rights in 1991, TSN has worked closely with Hockey Canada to help build the tournament into Canada’s favourite hockey holiday tradition. So, how do we pull off the most wonderful time of the Canadian sports year? Let’s take a look at the people and production, past and present, surrounding the World Juniors on TSN.

TSN has more than 120 production staff working in Toronto and Montréal during the World Juniors. As part of a long-time tradition, crew members away from their families share a Christmas meal together – trimmings and all.

This year marks TSN’s 25th anniversary broadcasting the World Juniors. In 1991, the year TSN took over as the World Juniors broadcaster, Eric Lindros led Team Canada to a gold medal over Pavel Bure’s Team Soviet Union.

Gord Miller has covered 20 World Juniors during his career. For his outstanding contribution and commitment to the IIHF WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP, Miller was honoured as the recipient of the 2013 Paul Loicq Award and inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame.

The IIHF’s highest individual prize, the Paul Loicq Award is awarded for exceptional contributions to international ice hockey. The award is named after Belgian Paul Loicq, who was the IIHF’s President for 25 years (1922-1947), and also a player and referee.

TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzieworked the network’s first World Juniors in 1991 as a rinkside reporter. Twenty-five years later, Canada’s leading junior hockey expert joins host James Duthie in Montréal and Toronto to follow every Team Canada game.

It wasn’t until 1994 that all Team Canada games played in Europe were televised in Canada. The 1994 World Juniors in Ostrava, Czech Republic marked the first time TSN substantially upped its coverage of Team Canada.

The 2011 World Juniors Gold Medal Game featuring Canada vs. Russia attracted an average audience of 6.1 million viewers to TSN, becoming the most-watched specialty television event on record.

Mark Milliere, TSN’s Senior Vice-President of Production, recently shared some of his thoughts with the Toronto Star on Canada’s love affair with the World Juniors:

“You know, you are watching young men with the Canada flag on their chest, best on best in the world, and you’ve got time. It’s over the holiday season so you can watch — everyone, the entire family can get into this — so now it’s bleeding beyond the sports fan. It’s getting everyone into the tent.”

In 2003, TSN PR staff (disclaimer: not the one writing this…) somehow coaxed a baby-faced Gord Miller and then TSN analyst Pierre McGuire into wearing Santa hats for a World Juniors promotional photo shoot. While holding sticks. On the ice.

DOWNLOAD: (Gord, we wouldn’t do that to you!)

Currently, nine of the Top 15 most-watched telecasts on specialty TV are World Juniors games.

Source: Numeris*Audiences prior to August 31, 2009 based on BBM Nielsen Media Research Mark II meters

The 2013 World Juniors in Ufa, Russia (2.5 hours south east of Moscow) marked the first time TSN mounted telecasts of every tournament game from a foreign country as host broadcaster.

For this year’s tournament, TSN will use 20 cameras for every game featuring Team Canada, including a super slow-motion camera.

Jordan Eberle’s iconic “CAN YOU BELIEVE IT!” goal – as dubbed by Gord Miller’s unforgettable call – from the 2009 World Juniors has been featured on SPORTSCENTRE Top 10 and TSN hockey highlights more than 500 different times.

This year, TSN is debuting its first-ever World Juniors Radio Network, delivering TSN Radio-produced game coverage nationally on 16 stations across Canada.

Of the 25 years TSN has televised the World Juniors, the tournament has been held in Canada nine times. The other 16 tournaments were hosted by seven other countries: Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, and USA.